


An Actual High School Drama

by Vanhalla



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bullying, Childhood Trauma, Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I Made Myself Cry, Low-Key Vent Fic, Mental Health Issues, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Teenage Drama, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, fuck em kids, high school is a bitch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:42:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24389101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanhalla/pseuds/Vanhalla
Summary: Maria Bélisles is a nerd obsessed with photography, birds and the local fauna. She gets bullied a lot for her unconventional looks, clothing and weird hobbies, among other things, and over her five years at high school, that has driven her to be very reserved and shy, and hate herself immensely. She's planning on running away if this keeps going in a month, but what if someone comes by and helps her love herself..?ORA fic I wrote because teen dramas with a bullying trope are just power fantasies and I hate it
Relationships: Maria Bélisles/Timothy Gallagher
Comments: 8
Kudos: 7





	1. Nothing ever changes here

**Author's Note:**

> As someone who's suffered a lot of bullying, seeing these dumb teen novels with a "weird, quirky, but pretty girl" as the victim always bothers me, especially if that girl ends up getting a bunch of friends/love interests in the span of like, a whole week. If you want your victim to be miserable, you have to cave in and make her "normal". Give her things bullies can use against her that actually hurts. Not just blue hair and glasses

Cover

The dreaded sound. That irritating tune that played from her phone every morning. The stupid alarm that disrupted her slumber and reminded her that today was a day where she'd wish she weren't alive anymore.

Thankfully, tomorrow was Friday. And then, Maria would have two whole days of peace. _But her thoughts intruded by the nagging fear of the possibility that one of them would find her social media accounts._

Maria stood up and rubbed her eyes, patting around the bed to try to find her phone. She stopped the alarm and looked at the time. _She had a whole hour of peace before the storm. At least there was that._

Maria stood up and looked around her room, trying to find her glasses, to no success. Sighing, she dressed up, braided her hair, and walked out her bedroom.

"Mom, have you seen my glasses?"

Her footsteps echoed in the house as she slowly walked down the stairs, careful not to trip. 

"Oh, no, sorry honey."

Maria sighed. "I was sure I put them on my bedside table, but I guess I was wrong.."

A man, her father, walked to her, and smiled.

"Oh, I have them! They were in the bathroom."

He said as he handed her the glasses. She took them and pushed them up her nose.

"Thanks dad" 

And without a word more, she took some cereal, ate it as quickly as she could, then went back upstairs, brushed her teeth, then went to her room, and sat there, on her phone, anxiously waiting for the hour to pass until she had to go.

And then when it came, her heart sank, but she sighed and, reluctantly, grabbed her backpack and shoes, and walked out the house. She barely had time to hear her parents' usual encouragements. She was feeling a bit more jittery today, for some reason. The _it'll be okay!_ and _we love you!_ were only distant noise in her mind, as they were pushed back by all the fears and anxiety that were crawling to the surface. Quickly, she grabbed her headphones, and started her music. The loud guitar immediately lowered her paced breathing and drumming heartbeat and she smiled very faintly, walking towards the bus stop. 

_It'll be okay, yeah right. It's never been okay, not once for these five years._

There was a raven sitting on the stop sign. It looked at her, and she looked back, taking her camera out of its bag, and quickly snapping a picture of it. _One more for the album._

The bus arrived and with it the dreaded feeling came back. Increasing the volume of her music, she walked in the bus, briefly passing her card on the monitor, then sat at her usual spot; the first seat on the first row.

Nobody ever sat there, they all preferred the back much more. 

_Already in, and she couldn't wait to get home._

The ride was, as always, too fast. It ended too soon. _If only she could have a moment more alone…_

She got off the bus and, head down, walked up the road to her school, large shoes rubbing against the asphalt. Then students piled around her, loud and cheerful. _She wishes she could feel like that_.

Then her foot got caught in the other, and she felt herself fall, flat on her face. She heard a few gasps and snickers around, although they were muffled by the music in her ears, _thank god._ Maria stood back up with difficulty, and sighed. _Damn those feet._

She walked in the school, the ambient noise of all the students talking and laughing almost surpassing the one from her headphones, and went to her locker, removing her headphones and hiding her phone in her pocket.

_At this point she could practically count the seconds before-_

"Hey look, it's a goblin!"

_There it was._

Maria stayed silent. Three guys walked behind her, slowly, snickering to themselves

"Is it me, or did her pimples get bigger since yesterday?"

"Nah but her feet did!"

_Then laughter ensued as they walked away nonchalantly._

Maria caught her breath, cursing the rules of the school for not letting her keep her headphones on at all time, and tugged her scarf on her face, embarrassed.

_Hopefully this day would end quickly._

The bell rang and the stress only got bigger. _Come on. She could do this._

As Maria walked to her first class, already the mood was horrible. Her classmates parted as she walked past them, hurrying to get to her seat, luckily located at the very back. She could hear whispers and a few muffled laughs. _At least once the teacher arrived, they would shut up_. She sighed and sat at her desk, crossing her arms

Maria felt a piece of paper land on her head and tumble down on the desk. _She shouldn't even bother reading it. She could guess what was written inside._

Then the teacher walked in, and everyone quieted down. Maria looked up a bit, and got her things out of her bag.

_Thank you teacher._

During the class, she doodled in her sketchbook. _That raven from earlier was really beautiful. Maybe when she came back home she'd see it again._

A few minutes later and the doodle was done, so she tried bringing her attention back to the class. _No success. The stress was making it too hard to concentrate. What was the teacher saying? His mouth moved but nothing coming out made sense to her._

Beat down, she let her mind drift, and her gaze dance around the classroom. It went up to look at the stained egg white ceiling, then to the wall and the windows, and then-

_Was this guy staring at her?_

She quickly averted her gaze, a bit taken aback and embarrassed, then looked up again. 

He had his eyes down on his paper now _._ She sighed softly and looked back at her drawing. _Maybe all that stress was making her hallucinate._ Unless that guy was planning something bad, there's no way in hell he'd been looking at her. _Maybe he was looking at the girl in front of her and she simply mistook it. That must've been it._

Then class ended, and quickly she stood up and walked off to the next.

Then lunch came.

Maria went to her locker to take her lunchbox, happy that nobody was here waiting for her that day. _At least there was that._

But as she sat on the bench outside the school, staring at her sandwich, she realized she wasn't even hungry. The most she could eat was maybe a granola bar, and juice, but she couldn't get the motivation to stomach a whole sandwich.

 _The stress was making her stomach hurt. If she ate it, she might vomit, and then the bullies have one more reason to laugh at her_.

She decided to go to the library, the only place on this damned building where she actually felt a bit less like shit. Maybe she'd have time to relax, draw a few more birds, and calm down before the next class started.

As she looked around the shelves, trying to find a specific book, she bumped into someone. Her feet caught themselves in each other and she fell, her glasses falling and her head hitting the carpeted floor.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" The person whispered.

_Apologizing for hurting her? That was rare._

Silent, she pat around the floor, trying to find her glasses. Then she felt someone gently take her wrist, and drop her glasses in her hand. She looked up, pushing the accessory back on her nose, and her mouth made a "o" when she recognized the person. It was the guy who was _possibly_ staring at her during the first class. "Are you okay?" He whispered, reaching out to help her out. _No way she'd take that hand. He might very well be pretending to be nice._

"Yeah. Sorry for bumping into you.." she answered softly, standing up and quickly walking away. _Curse those big feet of hers..._

As she walked away, she grabbed a random book, and went to a table, sitting down in a chair and started reading.

_Who even was that guy? He looked like a typical jock, with his hockey shirt and muscular build. Was he new from this year? He probably was, she couldn't remember his name._

The bell rang, interrupting her thoughts, and, reluctantly, she stood up, put her book back, packed her things and left.

But as she was on her way to her next class, she heard footsteps behind her. She knew it was people following her. _The corridors were already almost empty_.

"Hey, goblin!"

_Ignore them, just ignore them. They'll go away eventually._

"Hey dumbass! She's talking to you!"

_Don't turn around, just keep walking, they'll go away ev-_

But then the feeling of someone pulling on her backpack, and throwing it, made her turn around. She looked at her books, now scattered across the floor, and whimpered softly, paralyzed.

Four girls and one guy. They weren't from her class, they were in another group. She didn't know them very well, but this wasn't the first time they did this to her _._

_She had to hurry up and grab her things, else she'd be late for-_

"Are you deaf now?? When someone talk to you, you have to answer!" One of the girls said. The others snickered. Another girl leaned in, and grabbed Maria's sketchbook, flipping through it rapidly, as Maria could only look, too scared to move or say anything.

 _Please stop._ The words simply didn't want to come out. They rested there at the back of her throat, tears swelling up in her eyes as if her body was trying to find another way to express itself.

The girl laughed, and grimaced mockingly.

"Oh wow. That's really ugly."

She threw it back on the ground, and the group left, laughing. As soon as they were out of her sight, Maria quickly leaned down, and, hands trembling and tears in her eyes, shoved all her books in her bag. 

And then the bell rang, and she froze. Then she grabbed her face with her hands, sliding her glasses off her face so she could wipe her eyes, and sobbed. 

This was the first time she'd ever been late to class in her entire life. All this, just because she wasn't strong enough to tell them to stop. Because she was scared. _What a moron she was. She shouldn't even be there, she should just die, disappear, run away._

Catching her breath, and breathing in and out slowly in shaky huffs, she looked at her watch, and sighed. _Well, maybe she wouldn't be punished too harshly if she went back now._

Quickly she stood up, and ran to her class.

But as soon as she opened up the door, she realized she might've been better off not coming at all.

"Maria, you're late. You know that doesn't go well in my class."

Maria stood in the door frame, knees quacking. 

"B-but ma'am, I-"

"There's no buts. You stay outside for the rest of the period, think about what you've done."

And then the lid broke, and everything just got out. The tears were dropping down her nose and cheeks, she was shaking and sniffling, and of course she could hear a few people whisper and silently laugh. 

She left quickly. 

_She didn't want any of this anymore. She wanted to stop feeling so bad all the time. She wished she didn't look so ugly, had weird hobbies and acted weirdly. She wished she were normal._

As she stopped in front of her locker, she had an idea. 

_If this kept going after a whole month. If she didn't feel any better. She'd run away._

Somehow, that made her feel at ease. _At least now she had something to do._

When the school ended, Maria was relieved. _Of course things probably wouldn't get better tomorrow, but at least she'd have some peace and quiet._

She quickly packed her things, and left.

But as she sat down in her usual seat on the bus, she felt someone sit next to her. The leather creaked as the weight shifted, and Maria couldn't help but to feel surprised, and confused.

"Are you okay?" A low voice asked.

She turned her head just a bit, looking at the ground, sliding an ear off her headphones, and saw two dirty, untied red sneakers. Then, as she looked up, old washed out jeans, then a striped hoodie, a freckled, muscular forearm, and then a freckled face, oddly resembling that of a lost puppy.

_Oh, it was that guy again. What was his name?_

"Mhm.."

Maria was about to start up her music again, assuming the guy would go away, _what even did he want from her anyway,_ but he stayed put, still looking at her.

"Did something happen, during lunch? Because, uhm…"

_Oh yeah, he was in her class. He definitely saw her cry, right?_

"I don't wanna talk about it."

The guy's face dropped, and he sighed softly. "Oh. Sorry."

Silence.

"W-well,if you ever do need to talk, uhm… m-my name's Timothy."

Then she slid her headphones off her ears, and looked up at him. He smiled, very faintly, and a bit awkwardly.

"M-Maria. My name's Maria."

Timothy chuckled. "Heh, thanks, well I'll leave you to your music then. Bye, Maria!"

Then he stood up, and went to sit in the back, leaving Maria alone, confused and dumbstruck. 

_What exactly just happened???_

_Maybe he was planning something… nobody in this school was just gonna be nice to her, genuinely. It'd be naive of her to think otherwise._

  
  


When she got back home, she was greeted by her parents hugging her. They seemed a bit agitated.

"So, Maria, we've decided to talk to your principal and vice-principal tomorrow night about your bullying situation." Said her dad, very seriously.

Maria was a bit apprehensive. "But-"

"Yeah, we know last year they didn't listen, but we thought that maybe this year it'd be different!" Then said her mom, a hopeful glint in her eyes.

Skeptical, and anxious, Maria looked down, and sighed. 

_If anyone cared, they'd already be doing something about it._

Her mom caressed her cheek and smiled, making Maria look back up. "It'll be okay honey. I'm sure they'll understand, okay?" She said softly, before hugging her. Maria hugged back and breathed in. 

_Let's hope so._


	2. A new friend... or is it?

The ringing of her alarm, loud and annoying, interrupted what was a rather pleasant dream.  _ She hadn't had those in a while. _

Maria sat up in her bed, and rubbed her eyes, stretched, and yawned, grabbing her phone and stopping the alarm. 

_ Another day in hell. _

During her whole ride to school, she was trying to not think about Timothy. Over the five years she'd been at that damned place, she learned to not trust people who acted nice towards her. It wasn't the first time someone approached her, feigning compassion and kindness. And then, they'd stab her in the back and make her feel even more miserable.  _ She got cautious over the years, she knew better than to trust a random stranger. _

The bus stopped and she got out, walking in the school and to her locker. As she opened the door, she looked at her schedule, which she had taped on the inside. And her heart sank as she saw her first class of the day.

PE.

But not just PE. No. If it had been just that it wouldn't have been so bad. No, no.

Today, they were doing swimming classes.

Maria swore in her head, cursing her bad luck. 

_ She hated those classes. She hated swimming. She hated water. _

At least the teacher, Mr. Johnson, was kind enough this year to let her sit the class out, and simply watch. It has taken a lot of effort for Maria's parents to convince him that she shouldn't participate, and, as luck would have it, rare as it was, the teacher listened.

_ Maybe this year it wouldn't be so bad. At the very least, she should be able to stand near it without fainting _ .

Reluctantly grabbing her PE bag, she motioned towards the gym place, and went to the bathroom, choosing a stall, and quickly changing into a t-shirt, sweatpants and sneakers. As she walked out, she heard laughter coming from the door next to her, probably from her female classmates who were changing there. Of course, she never went to the changing lockers. She wouldn't dare.

_ If they ever saw her body… it would only give them one more reason to bully her. _

With that, she walked to the pool area, sat on the bench, and waited.

As Mr. Johnson arrived and saw her, he walked up to her, a gentle smile on his face.

"Hey, Maria!" He said calmly. He sat down next to her, taking a pen from his pocket and scribbling a few things on his notepad.

"You okay? I put the bench as far away from the pool as possible, I hope that's alright."

Maria stayed silent, but nodded. 

"If you need anything, or you feel panicked or stressed, you can tell me, alright?" He got up, noticing some other students had started to arrive.

"I'll talk to you after class, I need to go over some things with you for this semester."

"O-okay…"

And with that he left, going to talk to some students.

After a while, once they were all there, Mr. Johnson started taking roll call. As he was, Maria noticed Timothy was there.

_ While she definitely shouldn't have been thinking this, she had to be honest, he looked pretty hot, especially like that, in his swimwear. _

He shot her a quick look, and, immediately, she looked away, blushing a bit.  _ Oh, if he noticed, he definitely thought she was being creepy… _

Then, they were finished, and the students all went in the pool.

_ Well, all except her. _

Not knowing what to do, she decided to place her attention back on Timothy.

_ Now, yes, maybe that was a bit creepy, but well, it's not like she had much to lose in that area. And well, she was being rather discreet. _

He was a good swimmer, definitely. He was faster than a lot of his classmates, and moved smoothly and with ease. 

After the laps were finished, an hour or so in, they took a short break, stretching, and relaxing a bit, before they eventually started up again.

During that break, Maria noticed that Timothy was talking to a small group of girls.  _ Oh, well, here goes any small chance she had that maybe he actually cared. _

But really, what would it matter,  _ she could still listen in on the conversation. _

It was hard to pick up what they were saying at first, but then, she realized they were talking about her. Then she saw Timothy look at her, and quickly, again, she looked away, down at the floor, although keeping an ear open.

_ "...Oh my god, you don't know? That's hilarious!" _

_ "...She's, like, scared of water. It's so weird, like she's allergic or something..." _

_ "...Maybe her parents tried drowning her as a baby, because she was too ugly, and now she's traumatized!..." _

Then, muffled laughter, just as quiet as the conversation. They probably knew the teacher wouldn't let that slide if he heard it. 

Maria looked up again. She wanted to see his face as he learned that. Timothy looked back at her, and kept eye contact for a solid second or two, before he looked away, at the wall, as if he were thinking. Then the teacher stood up, ordering them to do more laps, and that was the end of that conversation.

_ Whatever he thought of her before, it sure got worst now. _

The class ended quickly, and that left Maria alone again. Before she left, she'd talked to Mr. Johnson, who told her since she couldn't do any physical work, she'd be tested on comprehension. She'd have to stay every class to look at the students swim, and at the end, give an analysis of what she learned.

_ Not as bad as she expected. At least there was that. _

She ate alone, again, but, lost in her thoughts, it took longer than usual to finish her meal. As soon as she was done, she got up, and went to her locker, taking her bag to prepare for the next class. 

But, as she arrived there, she heard some people in the distance.  _ A group. Probably five.  _

_ Better to ignore them. _

She opened her locker, and started packing her things.

But as she just finished, she felt something hit her head.

"Hey beanpole! I got this yogurt for you."

Maria pat the back of her head, and found it to be sticky and wet. 

"Lick it up, maybe you'll stop looking like a corpse!"

"It's got proteins. You know what that is right?"

Laughter then followed, and then she saw an apple hit the locker next to her, as the group left.

Maria sighed softly, waiting until they were fully out of her sight to pat around her head and back. There was yogurt all over her hair and the back of her shirt. She could feel the disgusting cold of it permeate through it and touch her back. 

_ Why. Why her..? _

Trying her best to hold back the tears, she looked around her bag for tissues, and wiped as much of it as she could. It was hard to see much of it with her small locker mirror, but she hoped it was enough to at least not be too obvious.

_ They'd just use that to laugh at her even more. What kind of nicknames would they come up with this time? _

With that dark thought in mind, Maria decided to go outside, so at least maybe the fresh air could dry her up a little.

It didn't take long before the bell rang, and Maria had to go.

_ French class. _

Not that she disliked that class, on the contrary she actually quite liked it. But it was rather that her teacher  _ loved _ to have them do teamwork.  _ And she always ended up alone. _

As soon as she opened up the classroom door, she realized today's class wouldn't be great.

All eyes were on her, as some people were whispering, or giggling, or simply staring, necks arched to be able to look at the back of her head.

_ Of course, everyone already knew. Rumors spread rather fast here. _

Without a single word, and doing her best to ignore the gossiping, Maria sat at her desk, and let her head fall in between her crossed arms.

The teacher arrived, apologizing for being late, and started the class.

He explained that today, they'd have to work in teams of two or four, to decipher a song he had specifically chosen.

_ Great. Either she'd end up alone, or stuck with people who ignored her. _

After the teacher was done giving out the explanations and handing out the sheets, he gave the students a few minutes to find their teammates.

Maria didn't even bother moving. She simply let her head rest against the wall, and looked down, sadly.  _ She was used to it at this point. Nobody wanted to be with her. _

She heard commotions coming from her side, and, curious, she looked up. A girl and a guy were talking rather expressively to another guy, which turned out to be Timothy. She couldn't focus on what they were saying, but needless to say, she was a bit intrigued.  _ Not every day she got to witness drama right in front of her eyes. _

But then, that curiosity turned to complete confusion, once Timothy, seemingly a bit annoyed by the conversation he just had, walked up to her desk, crouched down, and looked at her. 

"You're still alone, right?" He asked softly.

Maria, shocked, nodded slowly. And Timothy smiled, a bit awkwardly. "Well… I'm alone too, so… do you wanna be my teammate?"

_ Did he really just ask… _

Maria was now very shocked.  _ Was this a prank? Did one of his friends dare him to do that? That could explain the earlier events. Maybe he was forced to be in a team with her, maybe- _

"Sorry, that sounds weird, I know. You just looked kinda sad, I thought it was because you were still alone." He started standing up. "Sorry. I'll leave you be."

_ He seemed genuinely disappointed. _

"N-no!" Maria exclaimed, a bit louder than she meant to. Some people turned around to look, and Maria blushed, embarrassed.

"N-no… it's okay." She said again, this time a bit more softly.

Timothy smiled, and crouched back down. "Oh, really? Thanks!"

Maria chuckled.  _ He was an odd guy, that was certain, whether or not he was pulling a prank _ . __

The teacher then called for everyone's attention, all the students going back to their seats, and gave a few more explanations. The project would have to be done over the weekend, and finished for the next class, which was on Tuesday. Then, the class actually started.

But, unlike usual in french class, this time, Maria couldn't really concentrate.

_ Someone asked to be on her team!? _

She didn't know much about Timothy, other than the fact he was a new student. But… he seemed genuinely nice, didn't he? 

_ Although, she shouldn't be getting ideas too fast. There were still chances that this was all a big elaborate prank _ .

French class ended, and Timothy, oddly enough, followed her to their next class.

He asked for her social media name, so they could text over the weekend and work on the project. 

_ This felt so weird. _

After making sure he wouldn't tell anyone else about it, and that he was okay with seeing a bunch of bird pictures, she shared her name and he did with his. Then, as they went in the next class, they parted ways. But there again, Maria simply couldn't focus.

_ This guy… was actually being nice to her! _

That was weird.

As the class went on, however, another thought invaded her mind.

Tonight, her parents would go talk to her principal, to try to find a solution.

_ Damnit, that was a horrible, stressful thought. Much more than whatever the hell Timothy was up to.  _

The class ended after what felt like hours, and Maria quickly went back home. 

When she did, she found the house empty, and the car gone. There was a note on the table, written in her mom's handwriting, that said "we left at 16:50, there's pre-cooked chicken in the fridge. We love you!"

_ So they were already gone… _

At least, she wouldn't have to come with them. She assumed they knew she wouldn't have been comfortable with it. Talking about her bullying to her parents was one thing, but the principal? That was another.

Maria took some of the chicken and heated it up in the microwave. As she was preparing some rice to go with it, she felt her phone buzz in her skirt pocket.  _ Weird.  _

She grabbed it, and looked at the notification.

It was a text.

_ A text? _

_ "Testing, testing, 1-2-3!" _

Who was that?

She opened up the app, and realized that it was from Timothy. She couldn't help but chuckle a bit.  _ Cute way to start a conversation, she had to be honest. _

_ "Hey" _ she simply answered.

_ "Do you have the worksheet? I forgot my french books at school <:(" _

Reading this, Maria's heart skipped a beat.  _ He was… asking for her help? _

_ "Yeah. Do you wanna start working rn?" _

_ "Yeah, sure, if you wanna :D" _

Even on text he sounded rather cheerful.  _ That could only be a good sign, right? Either that, or a very, very bad sign that he was smarter than he looked and knew exactly what he was doing. _

Grabbing her plate, Maria motioned to the table, and got her books out. She took a picture of the paper, and sent it.

_ "Nice tablecloth :3" _

Maria, surprised, shot a quick look at the table.  _ White flowers. Nothing crazy. _

_ "Thanks." _

She started eating, and they texted a bit about the assignment.  _ The task seemed much more easier now that she was doing it with someone else,  _ she had noticed. 

_ That was nice. _

An hour or so after, Timothy had to leave, as he had football practice. And Maria found herself a bit sad that he had to leave.  _ Why..? He was just another bully, right? It's just that he was hiding it so well! There couldn't possibly be someone who actually cared… right? _

Even though they talked mostly about the project, even then Maria could feel at ease around him. Unlike anyone she'd ever interacted with in her last 5 years, he was the first to actually treat her… rather normally.  _ Was that weird? That was weird, right? _

Maria's train of thoughts was interrupted as she heard the door's alarm ring, and her two parents walk in. They were in the middle of a very heated discussion, which already wasn't a very good sign.  _ The meeting probably didn't go well… _

As soon as they saw her, they stopped, and then her father sighed loudly, as her mother simply gave a sign for her to stand up, so she could give her a hug. They both had saddened expressions on their faces, and that immediately gave Maria the cue.

"Did it not go well?" She asked softly, although she already knew the answer.

"N-not really, no." Answered her father, as her mother stroked her hair. "They… didn't want to listen. Neither the principal or vice-principal."

"Not really?? More like, absolutely  _ not _ !"

Her mother growled "They said it was your fault!! I can't believe them!! The nerves of these… these-" she stopped, searching a word, then simply groaned. 

"If I could, I'd just sue them or something. They can't be saying that, these  _ morons _ !!"

Her father gently ruffled her hair, and smiled sadly "It'll be okay sweetie. We'll find a solution, okay?"

Maria nodded, and let go of her mother, grabbing her phone and walking up to her room.

_ Obviously, it wasn't going to be fixed like this… if it were at all. Maybe it was never going to be okay. Maybe- _

Her phone buzzed.

She looked at the monitor. It was from Timothy.

_ "Oh, do you mind if I sit next to you on the bus, next week? Might be less lonely ^-^" _

She felt like crying earlier, but… now? Not as much.

The shadow of a smile passed on her lips.

Maybe, if it wasn't getting fixed, maybe at least it wasn't as hopeless as she thought…

_ Maybe running away just wasn't an option she thought best after all. _

_ Or at least… that's what she hoped _ .

But really, she'd only know once the week started again. For now, all she could do is wait, and hope.


	3. Money can't buy happiness, but gifts do make people happy

The weekend, as usual, did go by too fast

But oddly enough… it wasn't just because of the stress of the upcoming week.

Rather… Maria had realized that, as short as the time spent with Timothy was, it was… rather fulfilling. More so than just the fact they were able to finish the project in two days.

Timothy was very kind and understanding, not ever belittling or insulting her for any mistake or weird thing she did. He actually admitted to have looked at her online portfolio, but after her initial panic he told her that he found her nature photos very beautiful, and, as he said "pretty damn professional!". That alone surprised her, and made her feel pride, something she thought she'd almost lost completely during the last five years.

Maria tried her best to ignore the feelings of attachment she was starting to feel towards him, because, as much as the small linger of hope in her heart would tell her Timothy was a friend, a large part of herself was still very very skeptical about his true intentions. Just because he was new didn't necessarily mean he didn't know anything about her. He might've very well just approached her because he wanted more info, to later on relay to his friends about it.

_ But… maybe not… _

That was bothering her a bit. She wasn't sure if the feelings of distrust were warranted. She didn't want to lose a potential friend by being too cold and distant, but if he ever turned out to really just be manipulating her, she didn't want to be too surprised.

Maria didn't tell her parents about Timothy. She didn't want to give them any false hope, at least, not until she was sure it was okay to talk about it

As she went up to the bus, she realized that he was sitting there already. As he noticed her, he stood up and let her take her place near the window.

That's probably when she remembered just how tall he was compared to her. As many times had Maria been called a beanpole, she wasn't actually that tall, only 5'6", but this guy… he was maybe over 6 feet. Standing up, his head touched the ceiling of the bus, forcing him to bend over a bit awkwardly. That height, along the muscular build and football jersey, definitely felt very jock-like.  _ If he weren't so nice, she'd definitely be a bit scared of him _ .

As they both sat down, he looked at her and smiled softly. "So, uh, I was wondering earlier… why don't you want anyone to see your pictures?" He asked. Maria frowned, clutching her camera bag in her hand. "They're not that good, p-plus, I don't want to give them another reason to make fun of me…"

Timothy's smile faded, and concern shielded his gaze. "Is… is it that bad?"

"You heard those girls yesterday, during swimming class… what they said about me..." Maria said softly.

Timothy sighed softly, and pat her shoulder. "S'alright. I get it."

Then, his smile came back, accompanied this time by a glimmer in his eyes. "Y'know, how about we eat together at lunchtime. Those girls asked me to eat with them but..." he scoffed "I'll go ahead and assume it'd be way more fun with you than them." He grinned happily, and Maria chuckled. "Thanks… I'm not much of a talker during lunchtime, thought."

Timothy chuckled. "Well I don't mind, don't worry."

The bus stopped, and they had to go their separate ways, but before Maria lost him in the crowd, she noticed him waving at her. Timidly, she waved back, and walked off, her heart a bit less heavy than what it was before.

Not sure if by chance or not, but thankfully, nothing happened in between that and the end of second period.  _ She hoped it wasn't just a coincidence. _

As the bell announcing lunch rang, and Maria walked out, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned around, surprised.

"I have some things to take care of first, but uh… where do you usually eat?"

It was Timothy.  _ Thank god. _

"Uh, well, I was thinking about hanging around the big trees in the front. Where there's a bench and a few rocks?"

Timothy smiled and nodded. "Gotcha. Gimme like, ten minutes, I'll come join you."

Then he ran off the opposite direction, and Maria motioned to her locker, taking her lunchbox and camera bag, before walking outside.

_ Today was a very nice day. There weren't too many clouds, and along with the cool breeze was a warm weather, not too humid or dry. Perfect to take a few pictures. _

Maria sat on a large, flat rock, opting to not sit on the bench as it looked a bit wet, taking time to look at the trees and flowers around her as she opened up her lunchbox and started eating. 

_ She liked being out here. It was quiet. Calm. Peaceful. _

She saw something move in her field of vision, and slowly looked to the side. 

_ A blue jay. _

A male, definitely, with bright blue wings mashing in with the black and white stripes, puffed out chest and head high, standing still so elegantly, like he knew he had encountered a photograph.

_ They were rather rare at this time of year _ , Maria thought.  _ She should take a picture. _

She had just gotten her camera, however, when she heard footsteps. The bird flew away, and Maria sighed.

"Hey! What's she doing there all alone, huh guys?"

Maria turned around. It was some guys from her grade, the same ones who threw that yogurt on her the day before.

_ Please. Not again… _

She wasn't quick enough to react when one of them grabbed her camera. Maria winced silently, eyes wide. She wanted to tell them to stop, but she was too scared for her voice to come out.  _ If she were to fight back, what would they do? _

"What's that? You were taking pics of the grass for your Instagram, that it?"

"You should tell us your handle, we'll totally follow you!"

"Bet the whole school would love knowing about it!"

They laughed, and then the guy threw the camera at his friend. Instinctively, Maria got up, and squealed.  _ That's the best she could muster up right now. _

"Aw, what you want it?"

The guy feigned dropping it, before he threw it to his other friend, who threw it back to him. They all laughed, and started tossing it around, while Maria watched helplessly, once more.

But then, one of them wasn't able to catch it. It slipped between his fingers and fell on the ground, in a loud crash. The lense exploded, sides caved in, pieces of glass and plastic flew around, and the guys, realizing what just happened, started laughing, and quickly ran away.

"Sorry!!" Said one of the guys, with a very sarcastic tone.

It went so fast that Maria was barely able to process it, simply standing there, staring at the ground, in shock. 

They broke her camera?

They broke her camera!

_ They broke her camera!? _

The bullies were only a few meters away as they bumped into Timothy, who just got back, lunch bag on his shoulder. Timothy looked at the group, then at Maria, then at the group again, who had only picked up the pace, except one, who whispered something in his ear, pointing at Maria, then ran off, laughing. Timothy's expression went from confused to shocked, and he ran towards Maria, crouching down in front of the camera, as soft, distraught "no, no no no…" came out of his mouth, his trembling fingers pushing around the shattered pieces of it.

He stopped, and looked at Maria, who was now sitting on the rock again, and sniffled a bit, too much in shock to do anything more.

"They broke my camera…" she mumbled, voice shivering.

Timothy got up, and grabbed her shoulders, staring at her intensely. "Did they do anything else?" He asked, a bit loudly, subtly looking around her body for any sign of a wound or concussion. 

Gaze blank, Maria shook her head.  _ They weren't the type to do that. _ Timothy frowned, and looked back at the camera, crouching down, then picking up its dismembered corpse and turning it around in his hands.

"Is the-the card still okay? T-the card thingy, that saves the images?"

"Oh. Yeah. I hope so..."

Timothy quickly found the compartment, and opened it, sliding the SD card out, and sighed. "Oh, it's intact, thank god."

He handed it over to Maria, who looked at it, then at him, and smiled softly. "At least with that you can keep your pictures!"

"T-thanks…" Maria smiled, very faintly.

_ He was genuinely concerned. That was so weird. _

Timothy smiled back, putting the camera corpse on the rock next to Maria, but then, he frowned, and looked back at where the guys had ran away.

"I can't believe it! Why did they do that?" He scoffed with indignation, picking up the glass pieces from the ground.

Maria looked at her feet.  _ Her large, dumb ugly feet. _

"They… they don't really like me, I guess…"

_ Of course they didn't like her. _

Timothy had a weird hiccup, as his eyes widened, and he looked back up at Maria. "Why, though? Why would they hate you?"

Maria sniffled, and inhaled sharply. "I-I don't know… I'm just weird and dumb and ugly, I guess they just- they just want to-" she rubbed her eyes under her glasses, and sighed. "I probably deserve it…"

Then, Timothy did something Maria wasn't expecting. He pulled her in, and hugged her. "No. Don't you say that, alright!" He exclaimed.

_ It felt warm, comforting, being in his large, strong arms… When was the last time she'd ever gotten any sort of physical affection from anyone, other than her parents..? _

"You're really cool, alright! If they're being so shitty it's their own damn fault,  _ not  _ yours!!"

He let go of her, but kept his hands on her shoulders. "You don't deserve to be tormented and laughed at, alright! These people, they're just- just…" he bit his lip, eyes scanning the ground as he was searching for an insult. "They're just shallow!!" He then spat out.

Maria swallowed, eyes wide. She didn't really know what to say here.

"What, just because you look different, or don't fit in the mold, suddenly that gives them the right to bully you?? No way!"

She could feel tears border on her eyes.  _ She shouldn't cry. Not in front of him. If she thought she looked ugly normally, it was worst when she cried. _

"T-thank you…" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes, then pushing her glasses up on her face.

Timothy smiled softly, and ruffled her hair. He then sat next to her, and opened up his bag. "I could try spending more time with you if you want, like between classes and stuff. I don't want any of this to happen again, y'know?" 

Maria played with the hem of her scarf, and sighed. "I-I guess…"

_ Would he really be doing all this, just for her? She didn't deserve that… _

Taking a sandwich out of a ziplock bag, Timothy cleared his throat, and sighed.

"What were you doing? Before your camera broke, I mean."

"I saw a blue jay. I was going to take a picture of it but… it flew away..." she frowned, clutching her scarf.

"Oh. Well, I'm sure you'll get to find another! Plenty of birds out here."

He stayed quiet for a second, and then smiled. "Y'know, I could buy you a new camera."

Maria gasped, and stared at him. "W-what?? B-but, they're really expensive, and-"

"It's alright. I don't use my money much, would give me an opportunity to. Better that than a car, right?" He winked, and chuckled.

Maria couldn't speak. Her vision was foggy, and her head felt light.  _ He was going to buy her a new camera. This guy, who only knew her for less than a week. He would do that, for her? _

"I'd rather you buy something useful to yourself..." Maria mumbled shyly.

"Well, it is useful! Without a camera, how else would you be able to take pictures? I really like looking at them, y'know?"

Timothy answered, smiling innocently.

_ That was it. Final blow.  _ Maria's heart skipped as she felt a few tears drip from her cheek, and quickly turned around, so he wouldn't have to see. 

She felt his hand pat her shoulder, but didn't turn around. 

"It's okay, really… it's okay..." He said softly, his hand going back and forth on her shoulder. 

Oddly enough, that alone helped her calm down a bit. She forced herself to breathe slowly, and, after a minute, she calmed down, wiping her eyes and turning back.

"Thank you… you're really kind, you know that?"

That compliment made Timothy blush a bit, and he chuckled. "Oh, heh, w-well, I'm only doing this because you're my friend and all, yknow?" He stuttered. Maria smiled softly, and started to eat.  _ Gaining an appetite, apparently? _

But, Timothy's expression darkened a bit. "Y'know, in swimming class, those girls said some things about you… I was wondering-"

"No. I don't wanna talk about it."

_ They might be getting along right now, but she wasn't ready to tell him this. Not yet. _

"Oh."

He frowned a bit, but then his expression softened, and he smiled. "That's okay. You can tell me when you're ready."

_ Holy shit!? He didn't mind??? That was rare. Usually people would pressure her to tell them. And get angry when she said no. _

Timothy cleared his throat, and took a peek at Maria's bag.

"Oh, uh, I saw you doodle in class. I was wondering, uh…" he took a bite out of his sandwich. "What's your dream profession?"

_ Smooth transition. _

"I wanna be a professional nature photographer. Put out my pictures in magazines and stuff." Maria answered shyly. "I just like drawing the birds I photograph sometimes is all."

Timothy chuckled, and smiled. "You're pretty good." He leaned over to look at her. "It's impressive."

Maria blushed a bit. 

"T-thanks… usually people think it's weird that I like birds so much…"

Timothy sat back straight, and took a sip from his juice. "Really? Why?"

Maria shrugged. "Weird obsession, I guess…"

Timothy sighed. "Damn. I think it's cool. It's like, you're a, a uh…" he frowned, nibbling on his straw, searching for the right word. "T-the job where you study birds." He then simply said, giving up.

"Oh, an ornithologist?" She laughed softly, which made Timothy smile a bit. "No, no. Birds are interesting, but I wouldn't want to make them part of my entire career."

She then sighed and placed her food on her lap. "I guess… I like birds because they're just… so different from what I am."

Timothy cocked his head, curious.

"Birds are beautiful… they're colorful and bright… and if there's any danger coming their way, they can just fly away… everyone likes birds. They're so cute and they come in all shapes and form and yet all of them are as equally respected and admired as the other..."

Timothy smiled sadly, and huffed.

"If you were a bird, what would you be?"

Maria thought for a second, and then smiled. "A mourning dove."

Timothy chuckled "I'd wanna be a peacock, they're cool as hell."

Maria smiled. _ He did have a way to make her feel better, she had to admit. _

The bell rang, but Timothy didn't stand up. "I'm following you. So uh, ready to go?"

_ Oh yeah. He did say he'd stick around more. _

Maria couldn't help but feel it was a bit of a funny thought.  _ He was like a bodyguard, wasn't he? _

Maria stood up, taking the remnants of her camera and reluctantly shoving them in the bag, then packed up the rest of her things, and walked off, Timothy right next to her. 

_ That felt nice. _

The rest of the day went without any major incidents. A few whispers here and there could be heard, but nobody directly approached her.  _ Which was very satisfying. _

By the end of the day, Maria felt happier than she'd felt in a while.

And, the week after, once she got her new camera given by him, she couldn't feel any better than that.

She could only thank God for the blessing in the form of Timothy Gallagher she just got gifted.


	4. Pity party

The rumors had started maybe a week or two after they started hanging out together. Despite how careful she'd been, how he tried to ignore the people around her, it proved too hard.

_They're totally going out..._

_She paid him to hang around..._

_He has a weird ugly girl fetish..._

_Sex must be good, cause with a face like that…_

Timothy probably tried to ignore them too.

He acted as if nothing was happening as they walked down the hallway together, or talked together during and between classes. He kept on a bright smile even with all the people around him staring and whispering.

And then, there was that group of girls…

Maria had noticed they'd been oddly clingy with him ever since he transferred, but once the rumors picked up, they started following Maria around, insulting her everytime she was alone. 

_They felt threatened by her meer presence, that alone was obvious._

But…

_That could eventually escalate._

Maria learned how right she was, on that one day, during lunchtime.

She had to go to the bathroom, and of course, that was one of the places where she couldn't rely on Timothy to accompany her. 

She hoped it'd be quick. She didn't wanna be alone for too long. 

But sadly, it didn't go as planned.

As soon as she got out the stall, those girls were waiting. 

"Okay, how much you payin' him?"

"Probably a lot. I'd need at least a million to even look at her for long enough."

Maria stayed silent, and tried to walk away. But one of them grabbed her scarf, and tugged on it. She felt the air leave her throat as the cloth pushed against her neck, and yanked her back, having her lean against the wall, her head hitting the ceramic. 

"Listen to me when I'm talking, you _bitch._ " One girl snarled, tugging on her scarf more. _It was getting hard to breathe._

That word alone was like vitriol, like pent up rage, boiling up to the surface, ready to explode.

"Don't go thinking you're above us like that, you fucking goblin. Your ignoring might work with the guys but it ain't working with me, got it?"

The girl pushed her head up, the back of it hitting the wall once again. 

_She couldn't escape at this point. The gang was surrounding her. There were no openings._

Another girl pushed her to the ground, and Maria's glasses fell, the glass cracking. _Damnit, seems everything expensive she owned was getting destroyed recently, huh?_

"Learn your place!"

Something hard hit her face. _A foot, probably._

"It ain't with him at the top!"

Then another hit her stomach, and another to her nose. She could taste blood at this point. _It hurt._

"It's at the bottom, on the _fucking floor, you_ **_freak!!_ ** _"_

Another blow to her head, was then followed by a heel, crushing her hand.

Then, laughter, and the hits stopped. 

"You got that?"

Maria could only muster up a faint sob and a cough as an answer, which was probably satisfying enough for the girls, as they scoffed, and left her there.

Maria sighed, her breathing shallow, trembling and paced. She curled up into a ball, and sobbed. 

_Why._

_Why her._

_Why did this always happen to her? What did she do to deserve this?_

She wiped a trail of saliva and blood that had been dripping off her mouth and on the ground, and, slowly, stood up.

_What should she tell Timothy? Maybe she should just avoid him. He shouldn't have to know she was hurt because of him. She shouldn't be bothering him with that._

_Maybe she should just go home and hide._

Whatever she'd end up doing, Maria definitely had to get out of the bathroom.

Slowly, she stood up, and motioned out of the bathroom. Her legs were shaking and it was hard to see with a cracked lense, _but it could be worse._

As she walked down the stairs, she bumped into none other than Timothy. He had both his and her bags in his arms, and he seemed rather relieved to see her. "O-oh, sorry! I thought you were taking a while, I wanted to see if nothing ha-" he froze, as he actually got to take a look at her, and his eyes widened.

"What happened." He asked, in a tone so serious you'd think he was about to commit murder.

_What to say? Should she tell him, or?_

"I fell down the stairs…"

He raised an eyebrow, seemingly very skeptical, and concerned. "You sure?"

She nodded, slowly, and his expression went from concerned to panicked. "A-anyways, we should bring you to the infirmary! You don't look pretty okay!"

"N-no, I'm fine, I just fell-"

"No, no way, we _are_ going. I'm not leaving you like that okay?" He grabbed her arm, and pulled her in, and she followed as he walked them both towards the infirmary.

As they got inside - well, as Maria got inside. Timothy had to wait outside, for privacy sake - the nurse seemed very shocked.

"Oh, honey, what happened to you??" She exclaimed, quickly getting some equipment to take care of Maria's wounds.

"I fell off the stairs.."

The nurse was just as skeptical as Timothy was, if not more. "Oh, yeah, alright."

She started patting her face around with cotton, and sighed. "What happened, really? You can trust me, okay honey?"

Maria looked down, and took a shivery breath. 

"Please don't tell Timothy about it…"

The nurse shook her head, very serious.

"I got beat up by a few girls in the bathroom…"

The nurse gasped, and her expression turned into that of a worried mother, one almost rivalling Maria's own.

"Oh, you poor thing! Why would they do that??"

Maria sighed. "I don't know… they-they told me I shouldn't hang around Timothy anymore, that I was… out of his league…"

The nurse whimpered. "Oh, honey…"

She stopped, and motioned her finger up.

"I'm sorry to ask sweetie, but you'll have to lift up your shirt."

Maria stared at her, confused.

"I've seen guys come out of fights before. I know how that looks. There could bruises there."

Shyly, Maria complied. _She knew the nurse wouldn't judge her body. But it was still a thought that lingered in her mind whenever she had to take her shirt off, even for a second._

_If someone saw her… they would laugh._

"Oh, honey…" the nurse's voice started to break as she stared at the brownish-blue of the bruises plastering her stomach. 

"I don't have much power in this place, but… I'd like to have a talk with the principal about this." She then added, a bit more serious. "This behaviour is unacceptable, and I'd refuse for it to go unnoticed!"

Maria chuckled sadly. "Yeah… I don't think they'd listen… my parents already tried."

_Then again… this was the first time the bullying ever got physical…_

The nurse had a somber expression, and bit her lip, brows furrowed. "I'll arrange something with your parents then."

She then smiled, and ruffled her hair. "I'm not gonna stay around and have a pretty girl like you suffer injustice."

Maria was shocked at that compliment, and smiled sadly.

"T-thank you.."

As Maria got out, she realized Timothy was still standing outside the infirmary. She felt her heart tighten a bit at the idea that he'd been waiting this whole time. 

_He didn't have to do this for her…_

As he saw her, he smiled, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

She nodded, motioning for her backpack, which he was holding in his hand. He gave it to her, and then chuckled, a bit awkwardly.

"So there's this guy named Matthew, he's throwing a party at his house tonight, and he asked if I wanted to come."

He then shrugged. "I said no, but he did say you were invited too, also there's free food, so…"

He looked at her and smiled. "You don't have to say yes if you don't want to, of course, I'll follow you nonetheless, but-"

"Yeah. Sure."

Timothy looked a bit surprised, but smiled. "Okay then, as long as you want to."

_To be honest, she wasn't too eager about it. At all. She'd never been one for parties, and the fact that classmates were going to be there was terrifying._

But…

Timothy looked like he wanted to go. And, oddly enough, a part of her was curious to see what would happen if she went. She'd never been to a party before, and she wanted to experience that at least once. 

_Might as well do it now._

Her parents drove her there. It apparently wasn't too far from Timothy's house, however, and as such he walked there instead.

She was glad to see him arrive so soon. She wouldn't have dared go inside the house alone, that would just be reckless.

When she saw Timothy, already some of the tension in her mind faded. Whatever was going to happen, at least he was there to accompany her.

"So, uh, what do you think so far?" Timothy asked, as they both stared at the house.

"It's big. And full of people." Answered Maria nervously.

Timothy chuckled, and pat her head. "Yeah. It's okay though, I'll stay around so you don't feel too scared alright?"

Maria looked down. "Y-you don't have to, y'know? I'm sure there's other people here you'd wanna talk to…"

Timothy leaned over, and grabbed her shoulders. "Hey… it's alright. I'm not leaving your side, okay?"

He then chuckled. "Well unless I'm going to the bathroom, or you are. That'd be awkward."

Maria laughed softly, and that made Timothy's expression soften.

"Okay, well, let's go!"

As they walked in, the stress quickly set back in Maria. She got a bit closer to Timothy, looking around at the crowds of people all around. There were people in and outside, talking, laughing, drinking and dancing. The place was almost packed with them. From the window of the backyard you could see people hang around a pool, swimming or simply sitting near it.

"Funny, I thought this type of party was just a movie cliche…" Maria said softly.

Timothy chuckled. "Well, it is, technically. Matthew is just, uh…"

But as he was about to finish his sentence, a group of people pulled him aside. Maria barely had any time to react as he yelped and awkwardly shouted out to her to stay where she was, and that he'd come back.

Staring helplessly as the growing crowd separated them, distancing where she stood from where he was being dragged off, seeing the people around him cling to him and laugh, made her heart ache. She sighed sadly, and turned away. 

She might as well go get something to eat.

_Not that she was hungry, but at least she could focus on something else._

As she was walking towards the kitchen, she bumped into the group of girls from earlier that day.

_As if this couldn't get any worse…_

"Aw, lost your bodyguard? He's not in there sweetie." One girl said snarkily. 

Maria frowned, and sighed. And, with all the courage she could muster up, she pushed her way through, and walked off.

"Sorry. I have to go." 

But, alas, that wasn't good enough.

She felt someone tug on her hair, and push her. People around them parted, staring. 

"Oh, she talks back today!?"

"Thought the bitch was mute."

"Did that beat down give you a spine, you mutant?"

Maria walked back as the got closer, keeping eyes on the girls as she tried her best to get away. _This was a bad idea, she should've stayed silent, she should've-_

"P-please stop…" Maria muttered, terrified.

_If only Timothy was here. Why did he have to leave now? Why did this always happen to her??_

The girl at the front pushed her again, and Maria stumbled outside. _There was a pool there. It was really large, and very deep._ **_Very_ ** _deep._

"No-no-no, please, please…" Maria breathed out, eyes wide. She had her eyes locked on the blue water. People were getting out of the pool and surrounding them.

"Oh, what, you're scared of pool, retard?"

She could hear the people around them cheer for a fight. _But Maria wasn't in that mood, at all._

"Well let's see how you behave when we do _THIS!!_ "

And suddenly, the girl pushed her into the pool. She screamed, as she felt the oxygen leave her lungs, gasping when she touched the surface, glasses falling off her face. The ice cold water hit her back, spread to her head and envelopped her. Instinctively, she tried swimming up, but she couldn't concentrate. She could faintly hear yelling from above. People were arguing and fighting now. _But nobody was paying attention to her. She couldn't breathe. She was going to die. Nobody cared. Nobody cared if she died_.

Then, she felt something grab her, and pull her up.

She stumbled onto the grass and coughed, water spilling out from her mouth and nose. It was cold. 

She started crying loudly, shivering and sniffling, and felt arms wrap around her.

"What the fuck is your problem, Kate?? She's already traumatized, you heartless bitch!!"

_Was that-_

She looked up, only to see none other than Timothy. He smelled a bit like beer, that and his rather violent demeanor indicating he was probably a bit tipsy.

He was holding her in his arms tightly, one hand on her back and the other behind her head. He shot a quick look at her, but quickly looked back up as Kate, the girl who pushed Maria, scoffed.

"Oh, fuck off, Gallagher, she deserved it, a'ight?"

"Why?? Because she's different?? Fuck you!"

A few people went silent, some walking away or simply whispering to each other, but Kate growled. "Ugh!"

And with that, Timothy looked back down at Maria, and pulled her up.

"I'm taking you home, okay?"

Maria couldn't really think or answer right now. Other than the snippet of banter she just witnessed, along the faint cries of an angered Kate calling Timothy a pussy and a faggot, nothing else was registering. She couldn't think of anything. Except for the pool. The cold water. The oxygen, slowly leaving her body, and the cold water seeping in her nose and throat. _She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. She needed to get away, she needed to leave this place. It wasn't safe here. It wasn't safe anywhere._

She didn't react as Timothy stopped in front of his house, and placed her on the floor. She only did once he draped a towel around her, and gently rubbed her hair and clothes, which were all completely soaked. 

After he was done, he shoved his hand in his pocket, and got out her glasses. "Sorry, they're a bit broken… again." And gently, he placed them over her eyes. But he still looked serious, and very concerned.

"These people, holy shit…"

When he said that, it finally made Maria react. She stared at him, and then started sobbing, uncontrollably. Large salty tears rolled down her already wet cheeks, and she buried her face in her hands, lifting her legs up to her chest.

"I-I'm s-sorry! I shouldn't have accompanied you, I sh-shouldn't have said yes, I should've just stayed home, b-but I wanted to be with you, a-and I was so scared and- I'm so sorry Timothy!"

Timothy looked down, and then gently took her hand. "It's okay Mari. It's okay. You're not at fault here, they're the ones who-"

He stopped, and frowned, gaze going blank, like he had just realized something.

"Maria?"

Maria sniffled, and hummed.

"What happened during lunchtime earlier today?"

Maria breathed in deeply, and sighed. 

"Those girls… they… cornered me in the bathroom… a-and… they said I should get away from you, and-" she didn't finish. She just couldn't. But she knew he could guess what happened next, judging as how she felt him tense up, and saw his eyes widen a bit. 

"Fuckin…" he snarled. "Maria, how long has this been going on?" He then asked, more softly.

She wiped her eyes, and let out a shaky sigh. "F-five years."

Then, she saw something in his eyes she'd never seen before. Anger. Rage. Fury. The kind of anger filled with injustice, pain and confusion.

Then, he pulled her in, and hugged her tightly. Maria squeaked, eyes wide. 

"I'm... so... sorry…" he whispered, a painful sting to his voice.

Maria buried her face in the crook of his neck, and sniffled. She felt one of his hands reaching her hair and gently stroke it, and she let her own hands cling at his shirt. _He smelled nice, and he was warm, and soft. It was... reassuring, oddly enough._

"I'll go talk to the principal tomorrow. They shouldn't be getting away with this… not for that long." Timothy then said softly.

_Oh, he'd have to wait in line. He wasn't the first person to say that recently._

"They won't listen… they didn't when my parents tried to talk about it…"

Gently, he pulled back, and smiled. "It doesn't hurt to try again, though."

He lifted a hand to her cheek, and, tenderly, wiped away a tear with his thumb.

 _Compared to her face, he had really large hands. Scary, but…_ _he'd been nothing but careful with her so far. He was just so nice._

"Why are you so nice to me..?" Maria mumbled confused and light-headed.

Timothy chuckled. "Well… because you deserve that, I'd say."

Maria laughed softly and blushed heavily, embarrassed by that sudden show of affection, and Timothy did too. He rubbed her head and let his hand stroke down her cheek, and then huffed.

"Well, uh, this was a weird way to show you my house, huh?"

Maria sniffled and rubbed her nose, then looked around.

"It looks nice."

Timothy chuckled, and smiled. "Thanks! Is there anything you wanna do?"

Maria looked down at her clothes, not soaked anymore, but still very damp. 

"U-uhm… dry clothes?" she asked shyly, and blushed a bit.

"Oh! Yeah!" Timothy gasped, and quickly ran upstairs, probably to his room. He came back just as quickly, and threw some clothes on the floor. _They were definitely his, judging by the size._

"That's all I have. Sorry, hope that's okay!"

She grabbed the clothes and stood up. "They're perfect. Thank you."

Timothy smiled, and accompanied her to the bathroom. When she got out, and he got in to put her damp clothes in the dryer, Maria realized _the clothes smelled like Timothy._

_That wasn't a creepy thing to think right?_

When they got out, he let her walk around a bit. She noticed there was a pool in his backyard. _She'd probably be better off not looking at it._

"Maybe… we could watch a movie?" Maria then proposed. Timothy happily complied, leading her to the basement, where a giant couch and a TV were both set. 

They played a movie, but as it went on, Maria could feel herself get a bit sleepy.

 _She shouldn't fall asleep, that'd be impolite!_ Was what she first thought, but… _what did it matter right now? It just felt so nice being next to him, didn't it?_

When Timothy's parents came home, they found the two cuddled up on the couch, asleep and happy. 

They turned off the TV and the lights, and let the two of them alone, lost in their slumbers.


	5. Baby steps

As he had told Maria, Timothy went to see the principal this Friday morning, before classes started. He had woken up early - doing his best to ignore the fact he'd cuddled up to Maria when he fell asleep - and skipped the morning football practice, just so he could go there. _And of course, he made sure to contact Maria's parents to tell them she was safe, something they both forgot to do the night before._

The thought of taking care of this mess had been on his mind since he first learned she was being bullied, but only was it yesterday when he actually made it a concrete belief in his mind.

Maria didn't deserve any of this. She was a sweet girl, she wouldn't dare harm anyone. And yet, because of how she acted and looked, people thought it was okay to hurt her like this.

_She didn't deserve this. This was unfair._

And worse, she had convinced herself she did something wrong. That the constant suffering she'd been enduring for five years was due to a good reason. It hurt him, to see her like this. He knew she could be so much more than what she was now. How much potential and talent she was holding back because of the pain.

_He was going to fix that._

As he walked up to the principal's office, and stared at the polished wooden door, he felt his heartbeat pick up the pace. It was definitely going to be hard, doing this. He'd never talked to the principal before, but hearing Maria talk about it, it was obvious he wouldn't budge so easily.

He knocked, slowly, and breathed in.

_Let's go._

"Come in."

The room was clean and proper, and the air had a faint smell of old wood, and disinfectant wipes.

Sitting behind his desk was the principal, in his suit and tie, sitting up straight with a stern face.

"Sir, if I may… I need to talk to you about something. It's really important."

The principal smiled politely, and nodded to a chair in front of the desk. "Timothy Gallagher right? You're the transfer student in class 5-B, am I correct?"

Timothy nodded, and sat down.

"Yes sir."

"I have some free time on my hand. I'm listening."

"Do you know Maria Bélisles?"

Immediately, his expression hardened. "Yes. I know who she is." He then frowned. "Are you here to tell me to help her too, Gallagher? I've already had people come to me about this."

_He probably remembered Maria's parents._

"Y-yes, b-but sir, you'll have to listen. She's really suffering, and she-"

"Bullying is a natural part of life. She'll get over it."

_Oh, now Timothy could understand what Maria meant._

"It's unfair, sir!" Timothy exclaimed. "You shouldn't be asking this of her! She's 17, she's been going through this since she was 12, can't you understand that?? Don't you remember when you were 12?"

The principal sighed. 

"Gallagher, I was hoping you would be here to talk to me about something else…"

"B-but sir, this is-"

"Kids are kids. Bullying isn't something to be concerned about. Especially not in her case. Not like she's making it any easier with how she's acting."

Timothy's eyes widened, and his heart sank. _Oh.. no. He didn't just say that, did he?_

"How she's acting??" Timothy exclaimed, a bit louder than he'd meant for it to be. "What does that even mean?? She's innocent, it's inhuman, it-it's cruel, heartless to make her suffer like this!"

The principal stood up, looking down at Timothy with an annoyed gaze, and groaned, rubbing his eyes. "I'm not going to listen to this again." He said. "Get out of my office."

"B-but sir-"

"Get out. I don't care."

Angry beyond any reason, but not wanting to hit someone who had authority over him, _he wasn't crazy, just annoyed,_ Timothy stepped back, and walked out. He shoved his hands in his pockets, and grunted. 

_How dare he say that?? Of course, it was obvious he was someone with this mentality, else this bullying wouldn't have gone on for this long._

What should be do now? Let it go? No way. Another way would be to let the higher ups know. The ones who had authority over his own authority. _But how should he even contact them? It wasn't as simple as to just walk in their office, wherever it even was._

Timothy swore in his head. This whole interaction had soured his mood. _Why did it have to go like that?? Why couldn't he just_ **_listen?_ **

As he was walking down the corridor, Timothy bumped into someone. 

"Hey, Tim, what's up?"

_Oh, it was one of the guys who dragged him away from Maria back at the party._

He stayed silent. He wasn't in the mood for smalltalk.

"Hey, Tim, I was wondering… are you like, actually _going out_ with that freak, cause I've been hearing some things, man, and they're not prett-"

Timothy turned on his heels, and stared at the guy.

"Stop talking." He mumbled, before turning around, and walking. The guy gasped, and laughed. "Holy shit, no way! What's keeping you? Is the sex really _that_ good?"

Timothy could feel his blood boil right now. _If this guy would just stop talking, and leave, that'll really be great._

"C'mon, there has to be something right? How much she paying you? I mean you can't tell me you like her _for real,_ right?"

Timothy stopped, and breathed in, then out, trying his best to remain calm. "Shut the fuck up."

"Aww, did I hurt your feelings? Sowwy, I'll stop talking about your donkey girlfriend, alright. Satisfied?"

The punch came out of nowhere. Timothy, in reality, despite his size and muscles, wasn't a big fighter. He would rather solve things with words than with violence, and that usually was what he did. But right now, what triggered it was probably a mix of the anger that was already there, the urge to find someone to blame, a culprit to hurt, added to this guy getting on his nerves, and tiredness. It was just too much right now. He needed an outlet to let out his frustration and apparently this guy would be it.

The next thing Timothy knew after that one punch was thrown, was that he was fighting the guy. Pinning him against the wall, kicking and punching, and getting the same treatment back. 

In his fury, he could faintly acknowledge that there were other people gathering around, and eventually he felt other people pull on his shirt collar, his hair, his jacket, and punch him and kick him. Soon enough he was on the ground, trying to get back up to push away the new assailants, but there were too many.

Two teachers arrived, stopping the fight, and Timothy weakly stood up. He could taste blood, his face and his body were numb from the pain, and all he could think about right now was Maria. 

_Hopefully, she'd be okay. It was a shame he wouldn't be able to be with her today._

_Hopefully, she'd be okay._

*****

When Maria arrived at school, she saw an ambulance. She was, of course, a bit worried, but that worry wasn't too big. That is, until she heard two girls mention that Timothy got into a fight, and that _he_ was the one in the ambulance.

She eavesdropped on that conversation, curious to know what exactly happened that lead to a fight, _hoping it wasn't what she thought._

Apparently, he had just come out of the principal's office, and a guy tried to talk to him, but in return, Timothy punched him. Then other people joined, and eventually the fight had to be stopped and he had to be brought to the hospital for stitches.

One of the girls noticed her, and scoffed, turning back to her friend.

"If he didn't start hanging out with that Maria girl I bet none of this would've happened. Heard she's manipulating him, tch."

Shocked and appalled, Maria turned back, and ran. She ran to her house. _She couldn't do this anymore. It was too much_. She wasn't a very healthy girl and her thin legs could barely support her for so many meters, but nonetheless she just kept running. Tears clouded her vision, her lungs were like dry ice and her feet were starting to hurt. 

_It was her fault. It was all her fault._

She arrived in front of her house, ran inside and to her room, and shut herself in. And she cried. For maybe an hour or more. She didn't really keep track of time.

_She shouldn't even bother going to see him. He'd suffered enough because of her. She was just a burden to him._

_If it hadn't been for her, he would've been able to make friends, have a normal life…_

Maria looked up, and sighed.

_Normal…_

_What even is normal?_

She heard something outside, and looked at the window. There was a bird there, singing, sitting on a branch right next to her. A small tit, staring at her, its high-pitched chirp being heard rather clearly through the window.

Maria took out her phone, and snapped a picture of it. Staring at the screen for a second, she sighed, and smiled softly, then sent the picture to Timothy.

Oddly enough, it was seen rather quickly, and he responded.

_"Aww, cute <3 Are you not at school?" _

Quickly, she replied.

_"TIMOTHY!! Are you okay?? Also yeah, I felt kinda sick…"_

_"Aw. I got into a fight. I'm at the hospital rn, St-Agnes."_

_"Do... do you mind if I come to visit?"_

_"Nah. It's really boring here, I'd be happy to talk to you."_

And just as quickly as she ran home, she ran back out, to the hospital.

Thankfully, she had her bus card with her, and so, it wasn't going to be as exhausting as her run home was.

When she got there, she texted him again, asking for the room number, and quickly found her way in.

Timidly, she opened up the door, finding Timothy sitting on a baby blue bed, phone in his hand and legs crossed.

"H-hey…"

As soon as he saw her, his face lit up, and he stumbled out of bed, a bit clumsily. He hugged her tightly and chuckled. "Oh, I'm glad you're alright!" He said happily, then wincing, probably because of his injuries. Maria squeaked. "M-me? Don't worry about me, worry about yourself!"

He quickly motioned back to bed, and made a sign of his hand to have her come sit next to him. "Heh, sorry, it's just… I was gone and I was scared something was going to happen again, like last time, y'know?"

Maria smiled softly. _She should've guessed._

As she looked at him, she realized just how bad the injuries were. He had a red nose with a bandage on it, which was either broken or in a very bad condition. Then there was his right eye, completely swollen black, and his lip, busted. He had a few bruises and cuts on his arms and face, as well as a large bandage covering the side of his collarbone, and going under his hospital jacket.

The condition he was in made her realize just how much she felt bad. _That was her fault, what happened, wasn't it? He got into a fight because of her. And because of her, he was hurt. Badly._

"Timothy… I'm so sorry…"

Timothy smiled, and pat her head. "S'alright. It's not your faul-"

"Yes! Yes it is!" Maria exclaimed. "Ever since we met you've been hurt and rejected. You lost a bunch of friends, and now you're in the hospital. _Because of me!_ "

Timothy looked at Maria, and his eyes widened. "Maria.."

"You're really great, and you've helped me a lot, but… this isn't fair! You're suffering too! I hate this! I hate seeing you suffer, knowing it could've just been avoided by not interacting with me! I heard people earlier who were saying it was all my fault. They were saying I was manipulating you! Those rumors started because we're friends! Because you hang out with _me!!_ I-I wish I could stop them but I can't. I'm too weak. And-"

She was stopped by Timothy's arms around her, pulling her close.

"Maria. It's okay. I don't mind." He sighed. "You're worried for me, and I'm glad that you are, but… I don't mind hurting a bit, if it's to help you and make you feel better. That's what friends are for, right?" His arms slipped around her shoulders and onto her back and head, and she hugged him back, breathing heavily.

"I-I'm so-"

"No, don't apologize. You have nothing to apologize for."

Maria chuckled softly, and buried her face in his chest. 

_Friends…_

"It's Friday today, right?" Timothy asked softly. Maria nodded.

"Wanna hang out at my house tomorrow? I'm probably leaving the hospital tomorrow night, you could come with."

Maria smiled, and nodded again.

"Yeah. Yeah I'd like that."

  
  


When they got out of the hospital, it was around 20:00. Maria had notified her parents she'd be staying with a friend, and had brought her backpack with her in case it got too late for her to come back home.

They ate together, and watched TV. But once, as Maria had gotten out of the bathroom, she took a peek at the backyard. _The pool… it wasn't as large as the one she fell in…_

The rays of the moon were shining down on it, reflecting like diamonds. It was pretty, kind of.

_Maybe she could…_

She yelped as she felt a hand on her shoulder, and quickly turned around. "What'chu looking at?" Timothy asked, curious.

"O-oh, uhm… the… the pool."

Timothy's expression darkened "The pool? Are you okay? Should I close the curtains?"

Maria shook her head and blushed a bit, embarrassed. "N-no, I just…" 

She cleared her throat, and looked down. "I was thinking… maybe I could try going in…"

Timothy's eyes widened and his lips curved. He looked a bit worried. "G-go in? Like… swim?"

Maria nodded. "Y-yeah… do you… do you think it's a good idea?"

Timothy chuckled, and ruffled her hair.

"Well, if you wanna go in, I'll follow. And uh, I'll be there to help, and support, and stuff."

Maria giggled. "I brought my backpack, I think there's still my gym clothes inside, so there's probably my mandatory swimsuit in too."

He chuckled. "I'll go get my stuff, I'll be back in a few."

Maria nodded and went to change.

As she stared at herself in the mirror, the bad thoughts started to come back.

There was another reason, unrelated to the trauma, that made her not want to swim.

Her body.

Her lanky, underweight, skeletal body. With her big feet, and acne, and pale skin.

Her face was already bad enough, but the body was another. _She shouldn't even be doing this. It was a bad idea. He'd probably see just how ugly she was and he'd just laugh._

"Maria?" A soft knock at the bathroom door made her jump, and she opened up, just a crack. Only enough for her face to be seen. Although, she could see him rather well. _If only he looked at her like she looked at him_.

"I-I don't think this is a good idea…"

"Oh? Well, it's okay if you don't want to do it. I understand." Timothy smiled tenderly. "It's already very brave of you to decide to face your fears like this. Baby steps, y'know?"

Maria's heart skipped a beat, and she whimpered. "N-no, it's not the water, it-it's… it's me.."

"You? What's wrong?"

Maria looked down, and crouched, wrapping her arms around her legs. "I… I look ugly… with a swimsuit… and without one…"

Timothy crouched at her height, and tilted his head. "Really? I never thought you were ugly."

Maria looked up at him, and felt her heart squeeze. He looked so earnest. It was obvious he meant it. Maria stood up slowly, undoing her braids, but looked back down, embarrassed, and a bit scared.

"O-okay… b-but… please don't stare too much…" she mumbled, and, slowly, opened up the door.

_It was a shame she was looking down at the ground. Because if she'd seen Timothy's expression as he first saw her, she definitely would've felt happy._

Timothy tried his best not to stare, but it was a bit impossible. Not because he thought she looked weird, no, but it was rather the opposite. _She looked really cute._

The dark green color of the swimsuit complemented her raven hair so well, and it molded to her soft curves, as if it had been tailored to her specific measurements. Her pale legs, while very thin, looked soft, and her arms and neck just as much. If anything, he just had the urge to pull her in his arms and never let her go.

Timothy finally found the force to stop starring, and, coughing, trying his best to hide his flushed face, he smiled, a bit awkwardly. "Y-you look great. No need to worry!"

He then quickly walked off, and Maria followed closely.

As they got near the pool, Maria could feel her heartbeat quicken. There were lights inside the thing, that lit up the water in shades of light blue. _If she wasn't so scared, she might've thought it looked cool_. She instinctively grabbed Timothy's arm, and whimpered. 

"You okay?"

"Y-yeah… just nervous."

Timothy smiled and held her hand. "It's okay. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere."

As they were walking, Timothy cleared his throat, and looked at her with an apprehensive expression.

"S-say, why are you… scared of water?"

Maria stopped right in front of the staircase. She stared at the shallow water, and swallowed with difficulty. 

"When I was five, I almost drowned in a lake. We went fishing, I didn't have a life jacket, and I fell in…" Maria replied, eyes wide. Timothy smiled sadly. "Oh. I'm sorry."

Maria chuckled, and tightened her hold on the guy's hand. "It's okay. I'm-I'm doing something about it n-now, right?"

"Heh, yeah."

A few seconds of silence passed. The night was rather quiet, minus a few crickets, and the sound of cars in the distance. There was also the soft, warm breeze, passing through the leaves of the trees, making them rustle quietly.

"You… might need to remove your glasses for this. If you don't want to damage them." Timothy then said softly. Maria obeyed, and he picked them up, placing them in a safe place. Thankfully, her myopia wasn't too bad, so she could still see the stairs more or less clearly.

"You ready? One step at a time, okay? I'll go first if you want."

Maria nodded and Timothy walked down the stairs to the water. He then held up his arms, and smiled. "I'm right here, it's okay."

And, slowly, heart beating like a drum, Maria held his hands, and slowly walked down the stairs. As soon as the water touched the sole of her foot she squealed, and breathed in. It took a minute, as she spent some time on each step. When she got to the last, Maria closed her eyes. She slowly breathed in, out, and stepped down.

The water went up to her waist, and with that feeling, she started to panic a bit. Noticing that, Timothy pulled her in.

"It's okay, it's alright. Baby steps, remember?"

Maria nodded, breathing getting faster, her legs shaking. She hiccuped, and whimpered.

"You wanna go back up?"

Maria swallowed and shook her head. "N-no, I-I just need some t-time to… to calm down…"

Timothy gently stroke her hair, and she leaned her head against his chest. He smiled softly. "Alright, take all the time you need."

Maria closed her eyes, and counted to ten. Then, she breathed in slowly, and lifted her head up. "It's just like-like taking a sh-shower. A cold, outdoors shower." She mumbled. Then, she opened up her eyes, and found herself staring right into Timothy's eyes.

He smiled, and tilted his head a bit. 

"You okay?"

The blue of the water reflected in his soft green irises, making them shine. She noticed the bandage on his cheek was starting to come off, and, instinctively, she reached for it. Noticing, he winced a bit as she peeled it off, and then chuckled. Maria looked at the bandage, and gasped. "-oh! Sorry, it's just- it was coming off a-and-"

Timothy held her hand, and laughed softly, taking the bandage and setting it on the ground next to the pool. "It's okay, don't worry."

He then looked behind him, and back at Maria.

"You mind if I take a quick dip? I wanna swim a little."

He then looked around, and leaded her to the side. "Stay here. I wanna show you my skills!"

He smiled brightly, but then froze. "Y-you don't mind, right?"

Maria smiled. "N-not at all. I'm okay if I stay still, I think."

And with that, Timothy got out of the pool and walked to the other side, where the water was deeper.

"Alright, watch this!"

He walked back a few steps, and then ran, and jumped. As he jumped, he flipped through the air, and landed hands first, sinking down the pool. The water splashed around him, and he twirled a bit before swimming back up and to Maria. 

"So?" He asked excitedly. Maria was a bit too busy staring at his face to really listen. _The water droplets dropped from his wet hair, rolling down his face, his neck and his torso, and reflected the blue glow of the pool. Whenever one passed a freckle, it was as if the droplet was trying to peel it off and roll away with it._

"U-uhm.." she blushed, realising she'd been staring at his chest for a while, and looked away. "Y-you're pretty… g-good at it!"

Timothy titled his head. "You okay?"

She felt one of his hands reach for her cheek, and she squeaked. "Y-yeah, s-sorry, I just-" she looked up at him, feeling his thumb softly stroke the skin of her cheek, and only doubled in embarrassment.

Slowly, she lifted her hand to touch his, and he smiled softly and blushed, visibly a bit embarrassed too. 

_Was it just the excitement of being in the water, or did his smile just suddenly become_ **_way_ ** _more attractive than it usually was?_

And then he leaned over, and she moved a bit closer, and their lips met. Just for a few seconds, taking her breath away with the shock of what was happening finally settling in. _And also just how soft his lips were._

She pulled away rather quickly, panting, eyes wide, and stuttered. "I-I-I'm so s-sorry, I didn't- I just- I-"

Timothy chuckled shyly and blushed. "D-did you like that?"

She nodded, and smiled. "Y-yeah!"

Her heart was racing. She couldn't believe what was happening right in front of her eyes. _They kissed??_

"Wanna do it again?"

Eagerly, she nodded, and he pulled her in, kissing her again. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and felt herself get lifted up her ground by his own arms, wrapping around her legs. When they pulled away, Timothy's face was fully red like a tomato, and he had a dopey smile stuck to his face. _Cute_.

"S-so, uhm…" he suddenly said, then looked around, and then walked to the side of the pool, letting her sit down as he stood up fully and looked up at her. "I-I… may have approached you… because I thought you were cute…" he mumbled, face flushed. Maria was a bit shocked, hearing that. _Cute? Her? No way!_

"Y-yeah, a-and you know, you looked sad, and you were always alone, s-so I thought m-maybe you'd wanna be m-my friend…"

He laughed softly, and passed a hand over his hair.

"I-I didn't expect… I didn't think-" he chuckled nervously, and buried his face in his hands. "Ohh, I'm a mess right now, don't look at me!" He whimpered.

Maria smiled, and leaned over, taking one of his hands.

"It's okay. I'm-I'm happy you approached me."

He looked up at her, eyes wide. "I love you."

Those words hit her right in the heart. It skipped, twirled and danced around, beating fast like there was no tomorrow.

She froze, heat creeping up her cheeks, so warm it's as if it was trying to make the water on her body evaporate.

She closed her eyes, and breathed in. "I-I lo-love you too…" she stuttered. _Boy, this was hard to say, huh?_

Timothy laughed, and pulled himself out of the pool, before hugging her tightly.

"Oh, god I'm so happy right now, you have no idea!"

Maria couldn't help but smile brightly, and hug him back tightly. _He loved her. And he kissed her. Was this a dream??_

"Is this a dream? If so, I never wanna wake up." Maria said softly, giggling a bit.

"I hope not." He then looked down at her and smiled.

"By the way, have I ever told you that your laugh is really cute?"

Maria was so excited right now, she was on the border of tears. She squeaked, and sniffled, saying something that was almost a normal, coherent sentence. Timothy laughed, and kissed her forehead.

"Oh, you're shivering." He then added. He smiled. "I guess it is getting a bit cold. I'm getting your glasses and we can go inside alright?"

Maria nodded, simply standing there, arms crossed, as she waited for Timothy to go get her glasses and towel. When he came back, he wrapped a towel around her, gently placed her glasses on her face, and took her hand, leading her back inside.

_Not that she wasn't able to find her way back on her own, but rather that she was so out of it right now, she'd need help, or she'd just bump into the wall, or into a tree._

As they went inside, and changed. Maria then went to see Timothy, who was now laying down on the couch. 

She sat down next to him, and, awkwardly, scooted a bit closer. Her pinky moved close to his own, and, looking down at their hands, Timothy placed his on top of hers. She gasped softly and looked down, embarrassed.

"You still cold?" He asked softly. She nodded, silent. Timothy smiled, and tapped her shoulder. She looked up at him, and he opened up his arms. "I-if you don't mind, of course…" he then added. 

Maria looked up at him, face red, and, timidly, she crawled up in his arms, and buried her face in his chest. He placed a hand on her head, and played with her hair.

"You know, I've been thinking and… I think I have a solution, maybe." She said softly, after a few minutes of silence. 

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. The… nurse, the one who took care of me when t-those-" she stopped and sighed. "When those girls beat me up."

"What about it?" Timothy asked.

"She said she would talk to my parents… and so I thought that, maybe… maybe, if we all… if we talked to her, and also Mr. Johnson, w-we could maybe do something about it…"

Timothy thought for a second, and then smiled, his head moving to rest against Maria's. "Yea… I was thinking about contacting the principal's boss. They might have more chances of understanding."

Maria smiled.

_A plan. That gave her hope._

When Maria woke up, she found herself tangled in Timothy's arms.

_Warm. Comforting._

She raised her head and blinked a few times, founding her vision to be oddly blurry. _Oh, her glasses_.

But as she looked around the room, she realized she was neither home, nor on the sofa she fell asleep it. A quick look at the medals and trophies near her made it obvious this was probably Timothy's room, and she sighed, before turning back to him. He was still asleep.

_He probably brought her there and slept alongside her._

That thought made her blush, and she rubbed a hand across her face. She never could've guessed, five years, or even a month or so ago, that this would ever end up happening. She had to be honest, it was still weird, and unbelievable, seeing someone care so strongly for her, other than her own parents. _But… it was nice._

She stared at him a bit longer, before snapping out of it, and gently shaking him.

Timothy groaned sleepily and held on to her hand, which, while it was really adorable, wasn't exactly what she wanted out of this. She shook again, a bit harder, and this time he immediately sat up in the bed, rubbing his eyes and blinking as he looked around. "Wha-huh, I'm awake!!" He mumbled, before his gaze fell over her, and he gasped. "O-oh, Mari!" He said happily. He laughed a little, yawning as he stretched. "Good morning."

Maria smiled softly, and yawned as well. "Morning…" she then looked around "Have you seen my glasses?"

Timothy pointed to the bedside table, which was a bit too far away for Maria to see the contents of it in detail. "There- oh wait, let me get 'em for you." He said, then leaned over her to get them. He moved back, and puts them on her face, then smiled.

"Cute."

Maria blushed, but frowned. "A-am I? Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah! You have a cute round face, and big eyes, and a pretty smile. And you're so small and frail I could just pick you up-" he pulled her in his arms and hugged her. "-and just never let go!" He wiggled around a bit, and then kissed her forehead. That made Maria blush, and her eyes widen. Apparently finding that cute too, Timothy smiled and laughed, then lowered his head a bit, and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

Maria squeaked, and smiled softly. "T-thank you…" she then looked at him. "You're… cute too…"

Timothy giggled, and tilted his head, smiling brightly. "Hehe, thanks!"

_If he were a dog he'd definitely be a labrador. He was just too cute and happy, especially now._

"S-so, uhm… what's the plan, exactly?" Timothy asked, turning on his side.

"We're going to contact the higher ups, explain the situation, also do the same for the school staff that would vouch for me. We ask them to talk to the principal, and sort the whole thing out. Then, uh, we wait, see how it goes."

Timothy smiled, and ruffled her hair. "Damn, you're organized, huh?"

Maria chuckled softly. "T-thanks. I've been thinking about this all night, I'd say I'm pretty prepared." She smiled gently, and looked up at Timothy. "It's all thanks to you, that I'm able to find courage, and to have hope."

Timothy blushed and smiled back. And Maria leaned in and kissed him softly. He kissed her back, and then laughed softly.

_It was going to be okay, wasn't it?_

They decided on sending letters to the teachers and school board directly after breakfast. The letters explained everything in detail, from the less brutal, but insulting start five years ago, to the increasing violence of this year. They described the insults and the fights, how much it had affected Maria over the years. The fact she'd even sometimes had suicidal thoughts, or thoughts of running away - two things Timothy didn't know, which made him very upset when he learned, Maria having to be hugged and kissed a few times in comfort, before they kept writing. 

There were photos attached of the two's faces, still a bit scarred, as the fights had only happened a few days ago. They named a few specific students. The group of guys who fought Timothy. The girls who pushed Maria in the pool and beat her up. The guys who threw food at her.

As they were making the list, they started to realize this was about half of the entire fifth grade. _Awkward, if they were to end up expelling some of them._

And finally, they pleased that something be done about it. They explained that the principal and vice-principal both didn't seem to care, even when both Maria's parents and Timothy all tried talking to them, on multiple occasions.

And after they were done, satisfied with their work, they sent it to the school board, as well as the nurse, and PE teacher. Maria then called her parents, telling them about their plan, _and inadvertently, about her new relationship, which made them very happy and had them screaming of happiness over the phone monitor._

And then, when it was all done, she and Timothy decided to spend the rest of the day outside, as Maria took a few pictures, and taught some basics to him, who was,of course, happy to learn.

  
  


The return to school was somehow even more stressful than Maria would've anticipated. She didn't know what happened, as she hadn't gotten anything back from the school board.

The bus pulled in to her stop, and Maria climbed in, happy to find Timothy there, as usual. He smiled and stood up to let her sit near the window. As they both sat down, he took his hand, and gently kissed it.

"It'll be okay. Whatever ends up happening, I'm here, alright?"

Maria smiled, and kissed his hand back. "Yeah… thank you."

As the bus pulled up and they both motioned to Maria's locker, hand in hand, nothing really seemed different. People around her talking, laughing, yelling.

_Nobody was staring, however…_

When they got to their first class, they realized that a lot of students were gone. And those who were still there, as soon as Maria and Timothy arrived, looked away, silent. 

Then, a guy stood up, and walked to them. Maria didn't remember his name, but she knew he used to hang out with Timothy before. 

"H-hey… I… I'm sorry. It was shitty to do that."

He then quickly turned on his heels, and walked away.

"Hey, Matthew?" Timothy asked, and the guy turned around.

Maria looked at him, and smiled. "It's okay. I forgive you."

Matthew made a weird face, and some of the students looked at him, then at her. Then, another girl stood up. Maria recognized her as one of the girls who hung around Kate, the girl who pushed her in the water.

"Uh…" she stared for a few seconds, but sighed, and turned back. "Nevermind."

And, oddly enough, for the first time in a long time, those were the last interactions she ever had with those guys.

The day went by rather smoothly. She ate outside with Timothy, and watched him swim during PE. Then, as the day ended, and the two were walking home, Maria felt rather satisfied. She could only assume something was done about those students. She didn't know where they were, or what the school board did to make them go away, but… the important was that now, she finally was free. She didn't have to worry. _Everything was going to be okay._

She held onto Timothy's arm a bit more, and smiled brightly.

_If it hadn't been for this lost puppy, who knew where she'd be now?_

"Thank you, Timothy." 

She looked up at him and he looked down.

"I love you." 

And theirs lips met, and for a second, time froze, letting her bask in the happiest moment of her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOHHHH FUUUUCKKKKING HELL
> 
> This is probably the fastest I ever wrote sth in my entire life, holy shit.  
> Well, except maybe my Molly/Luca fanfic lmao.
> 
> ANYWAY
> 
> Did you guys like this? Yes? No?  
> I had fun writing this, lemme tell you that.
> 
> This was a bit of a vent fic, but it was one in the sense that it was done to help me cope with my own regrets. I've myself been bullied for two years and so I wanted to create a story that really reflected more the realistic side of bullying. The fact that the victim doesn't always just suddenly stand up to her/his bullies. That sometimes, you can't do sth on your own. You need someone to pull you off the hole everyone keeps digging under you.  
> I've always hated how bullying was portrayed in media. How the victim wouldn't even be someone who "should" be bullied (someone rly hot, smart, etc), either the bullies are badly written (too cruel, too dumb, incoherent), or the moral is unrealistic (everyone apologizes to the victim, the victim suddenly becomes super assertive and beats up the bullies).  
> I didn't wanna write just another bullying power fantasy. I've had enough of that. I just wanted something that would have bullying victims look at and go "huh, yeah, that's neat". And something that I could look at, and feel satisfied with. Something that resonated with my own experiences.
> 
> Fun fact, some of Maria's physical traits are inspired by my own. She's super underweight, has bad teeth, tired eyes and alot of acne, for example, just like me. She's also very shy and reserved, kinda like how I used to be a few years back (I did end up healing from the bullying so I got more assertive, but well she suffered more than I did so I can assume it will take her longer to recover)
> 
> I do hope you enjoyed reading :3  
> I write alot of romance here so uh, feel free to check out my other works too


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